22 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



the use of land naturally and continuously moistened by 

 underflow. Still, the far greater area of the State will not 

 give satisfactory vegetable supply without additions to 

 rainfall and the irrigated garden should therefore be the 

 end in view in most of our farm planning. Fortunately 

 this is not nearly so difficult to attain as is commonly 

 thought, as will be shown in a later chapter, and if the 

 farm-architect have the will to work, he will not long lack 

 the water to insure the perfection of his desires in his 

 home garden. 



Possible Exceptions. These faint suggestions of the re- 

 quirements of success in gardening, even on the narrow, 

 farm plan, may intimate that broadside exhortations to 

 vegetable growing are not wise and shed some light upon 

 the reasonableness of those who claim that they can not 

 profitably or successfully undertake it. Our great specialty 

 farmers are apt to have their heads and hands too full to 

 think of personally mastering gardening practice in a pe- 

 culiar country. The attempts which have been made to 

 transform the ordinary farm hand into a gardener have 

 usually only yielded disappointment, and the professional 

 gardeners who are really worthy of the name find it too 

 easy to acquire enterprises of their own to warrant their 

 wage-earning on the farm basis. It might as well be con- 

 ceded at once that many large farmers will do better to 

 purchase their supplies from some man who has the knowl- 

 edge and the soil and water facilities for successful pro- 

 duction. 



It is also true that in many cases the small scale specialty 

 farmer, working a small tract of high-priced land for a 

 high-value product, does well to plant his entire holding, 

 except his house site, to this product. But it is also true 

 that other men of this class will find the reservation of a 

 garden area a most profitable proceeding. What each 

 shall do depends upon his personal traits and tastes. 



But though these exceptions exist and should be consid- 

 ered in any claims that are made in favor of a much wider 



